Utah Inland Port Authority

The Legislature created the authority through SB 234 in 2018, with initial boundaries covering about 16,000 acres. The law let it direct land-use decisions in the port area and capture new tax revenue there, which Salt Lake City leaders said diverted money from schools and libraries. HB 433 in 2019 widened its reach. Salt Lake City sued in March 2019; a judge dismissed the case in January 2020, and the Utah Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 that the port's existence was not unconstitutional. [1] [2]

Since April 2023 the authority has added thirteen project areas outside the Salt Lake Valley, from Iron Springs in Iron County to Pony Express in Utah County in June 2025, and a ninth port was approved in 2024 on about 9,000 acres in the Weber River area. In September 2022 it paused major capital projects until a Northwest Quadrant master plan was ready, and in November 2023 the board adopted a wetlands policy for project areas in the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake watersheds. Critics have raised air quality, traffic and wetlands concerns. Abby Osborne chairs the board and Ben Hart is executive director. [1]